A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Monday granted the City of Santa Monica's request for a preliminary injunction barring Waymo from running its Broadway autonomous vehicle charging facilities overnight, delivering a legal win to residents who have complained for more than a year about noise, light and traffic from the sites.
The order, issued July 27, prohibits Waymo from operating its charging lots at 1222 and 1310 Broadway between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. while the underlying public nuisance case proceeds toward trial.
In granting the injunction, the court found the city had established a reasonable probability of prevailing on its public nuisance claim, determining that the ongoing noise, lights and traffic generated by overnight operations at the two sites interfere with nearby residents' ability to comfortably enjoy their homes. The court also found that the harm to residents outweighs any harm to Waymo from the restriction, noting the company can continue offering overnight ride service in Santa Monica using vehicles charged and serviced during daytime hours.
The dispute dates to November 2024, when Waymo began using the two lots — operated by charging company Voltera Power on property owned by SMF Property Holdings LLC — to charge autonomous vehicles serving greater Los Angeles. Residents soon began reporting reverse-beeping, humming, workers talking at night, flashing lights and traffic congestion in a nearby alley.
The Santa Monica City Council voted 6-0 in November 2025 to order overnight operations shut down between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., declaring the facilities a public nuisance. Waymo did not comply, arguing the city had misunderstood its permitted use, and sued the city Dec. 17, 2025, seeking a ruling that its operations were lawful and could not be shut down. The city countersued a week later, asking the court to declare the lots a nuisance and to enjoin overnight operations — the claim on which Monday's injunction was based. The city has maintained that overnight operations substantially interfere with residents' sleep and quality of life in violation of municipal and state nuisance law, and that it repeatedly proposed operational changes short of a full shutdown that Waymo declined to adopt.
Mayor Caroline Torosis said the ruling validates concerns residents have raised for more than a year.
"Our residents' ability to sleep peacefully in their own homes is not negotiable," Torosis said. "This ruling affirms what our neighbors have been telling us for more than a year, and it delivers relief while the case moves forward. I'm grateful to the residents who came forward, and to our City Attorney's Office for its steadfast work on behalf of the community."
A Waymo spokesperson said the company was disappointed by the ruling.
"We are disappointed in the judge's order, which may restrict our ability to provide visitors and residents with a safer, more accessible transportation option during some of the most dangerous hours of the day for road users," the spokesperson said. "We will explore all available options to ensure we can serve the tens of thousands of Angelenos who depend on our service."
The company said it remains in full compliance with local requirements and will comply with the new order while continuing to operate out of the Broadway sites. Waymo has pointed to its own research indicating that the most dangerous hours on the road fall between midnight and 4 a.m., a finding the company says is supported by local data. Los Angeles Department of Transportation data shows roughly 22% of serious injury or fatal crashes involving pedestrians occur between 9 p.m. and midnight, and Santa Monica's own analysis has found that nighttime pedestrian-involved injury crashes along Santa Monica Boulevard account for about 22% of all pedestrian-related injury crashes in the city.
Waymo has said it has worked to be a good neighbor, including reducing vehicle noise in consultation with federal regulators and turning off most vehicle lights while cars charge overnight. The company has also noted that Voltera is seeking a city permit for additional curb cuts that would allow vehicles to enter and exit the sites without traveling the length of the neighboring alley; part of that project has already been approved, and the court's Oct. 23 status conference is expected to include an update on it. Waymo has said that even after mitigation measures were put in place, certain individuals continued to create disruptive conditions at the sites, including honking horns late at night, using smoke detectors to simulate vehicle noise, and blocking the public roadway in ways that interfered with vehicles' sensors. The company has said it has invested millions of dollars in the Santa Monica community, where it serves tens of thousands of riders each week.
In its statement following the ruling, the city emphasized that the case was never about whether autonomous vehicles belong in Santa Monica.
"Santa Monica welcomes the future of transportation, and autonomous vehicles and the infrastructure that supports them have an important place here," Torosis said. "This outcome reflects what we've said from the beginning: new technologies thrive in Santa Monica when they're designed to operate compatibly with the neighborhoods around them. We remain ready to work with Waymo on solutions that let their operations and our residents' quality of life coexist."
The court has scheduled a status conference for Oct. 23 to review potential remediation measures at the Broadway sites. The preliminary injunction will remain in effect pending trial, at which the city's public nuisance claims will be fully adjudicated.